ISSUES WITH WINDOW David Lawrie, Director NPHTA
dave@nphta.co.uk www.nphta.co.uk
Once again it has been brought to our attention that there is an issue with local authorities having a tinted window restriction policy for rear windows. This is a topic that both Donna and I have been successful in overturning in many areas, including by way of a Judicial Review which resulted in a consent order being issued in 2017 which read:
UPON the Respondent, by its Licensing committee, resolving on 27 September 2017 to amend its extant policy to prohibit the licensing of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles with tinted glass, the said committee resolved that: “Tinted windows will be allowed so long as they are manufacturers’ specification, not after market and not self-adhesive films.”
But why? What exactly is the problem Well first we must look at what we mean by restrictions, or more importantly, verify that this is nothing more than a local authority desire, and NOT a statutory decision, nor does it have any bearing at all on any legislation. This is not even a nationally accepted or adopted condition, resulting in once again, the differences between local authorities being confusing to say the least.
What does the legislation state? According to the The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, the Road Traffic Act 1988 (RTA) , and the Ministry of Tansport Regulations, the light levels are very clearly written and are as follows.
• Front windscreen must allow at least 75% of light through • Front passenger windows must allow a minimum of 70% of light to pass.
There are no restrictions to any windows rear of the front passenger seats.
What are the local authority conditions on rear windows? This varies so much from one authority to another; some have no restrictions at all, some have the same condition as front passenger windows, whilst others have gone even further to copy the windscreen restrictions! Unbelievably, some have introduced their own criteria by stipulating 50% or even 30% - someone clearly has an overactive imagination! How do they even come up with such a figure, and do they actually under- stand what this means in practice?
We have sent out one of our famous surveys to formulate a comparison table to see just how much of an issue this is nationwide; we will publish the results once we have them all in.
6
Why are these restrictions in place? The only actual and truthful answer we can suggest here is that these restrictions are based on nothing more than personal opinions; a condition for the sake of having a condi- tion, which by its very nature is a breach of the Regulator’s Code, which we will come back to later. But there have been several attempts to try to justify such restrictions.
“We need to be able to see inside the vehicle as it passes to verify no offence is being committed.”
Simply put, any passenger or indeed driver committing an offence, such as an assault, is far more likely to divert away from crowded areas into a dark alley somewhere before com- mitting it, in fact it is exceedingly rare that such offences take place on the main carriageway.
“We need to be able to verify the vehicle is not carrying more passengers than it is licensed to carry.”
This view would only be relevant in broad daylight, with licensing officers standing at the roadside on a straight stretch of road, since at night-time, even with clear glass, the interior would not be visible unless the interior light is on whilst driving, which in itself would be an offence under the RTA.
So, the simple question that must be asked here is: how often are council officers on duty, standing on a random roadside, in the very early hours of the morning whilst a vehicle is approaching at normal driving speed, with the interior lights lit up, and able to observe clear enough and for long enough to do a head count in order to make this “reason” justifiable? Simple answer, NEVER; it is impossible to achieve this goal regardless of window tint level!
“It is for passenger safety and protection!”
Actually, in light of the above, window tint restrictions serve no such purpose, in fact quite the opposite, since the legiti- mate reason for vehicle windows to be tinted is to improve passenger safety and protection from harmful UV rays and sun glare, which then also improves passenger comfort too.
Do tinted window restrictions affect passenger safety or reduce risk?
As a part of our Judicial Review on this topic, we made use of a national Freedom of Information request that had been sent to all UK police forces which asked this question very clearly.
“Has the fact that a vehicle has tinted windows ever been considered to be a factor in any taxi or PH related incident?”
The answer from every single police force in the UK was a resounding “no, tinted windows have never been considered to have any bearing at all in any taxi or PH related incidents.”
JULY 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96
